Bitlayer Secures $20M in Funding, Launches V1 Mainnet with 850M TVL
2min read Bitlayer, a research-oriented project co-founded by Charlie Hu and Kevin He, has made significant strides in the Bitcoin ecosystem. The project, initially based on the BitVM paradigm, aims to unlock immense liquidity within the Bitcoin asset and ecosystem. Hu and He, with their extensive experience leading international teams at Polygon, Polkadot, and Huobi, have transformed Bitlayer into a leading Bitcoin Layer 2 (L2) solution.
Ask Aime: What impact does Bitlayer's research-oriented project have on the Bitcoin ecosystem?
In July 2024, Bitlayer announced its $11 million Series A funding round, led by Franklin Templeton and ABCDE. By October of the same year, the team secured an additional $9 million in an extended Series A round, this time led by Polychain Capital. This funding has enabled Bitlayer to achieve remarkable progress, including the launch of its V1 mainnet, which reached an all-time high total value locked (TVL) of 850 million with over 200 decentralized applications (Dapps) launched on the L2.
Bitlayer’s ecosystem is thriving with a variety of projects building Bitcoin DeFi (BTC-Fi) applications, including decentralized exchanges (DEXs), staking, restaking, liquid staking, infrastructure, oracles, interoperability, data availability, and runes and ordinals. Recently, the team announced the first BitVM bridge solution testnet built within the Bitcoin ecosystem. This bridge is designed to enable the flow of bitcoin to an array of blockchains and decentralized applications, marking a significant advancement in the Bitcoin DeFi space.
Charlie Hu, Co-founder of Bitlayer, emphasized the importance of the bridge for the development of DeFi on Bitcoin. He highlighted that the main differentiator of Bitlayer’s solution is its trust-minimized approach. Unlike existing multisig setups, which require the majority of signers to be honest, Bitlayer’s bridge only requires one honest signer to ensure security. This innovation addresses the vulnerabilities seen in recent major hacks in the space.
The recent announcement of Bitlayer’s partnerships with key Layer 1 blockchains such as Base, Arbitrum, Starknet, sonic SVM, and Plume Network underscores the rising demand and interest in the project. These partnerships signal a growing ecosystem that supports the flow of bitcoin to various blockchains and decentralized applications, enhancing the overall liquidity and utility of Bitcoin.
With the imminent launch of Bitlayer Mainnet V2 in Q2 2025, Bitlayer is poised to bring BitVM to the world stage. Kevin He, Bitlayer Co-founder, noted that the Bitlayer network’s Mainnet V2 will transition to a Bitcoin Rollup, a first-of-its-kind innovation that brings Bitcoin-level security to the Layer 2 ecosystem. This transition is expected to further enhance the security and scalability of the Bitcoin network, making it more attractive for institutional investors, traders, and holders.
BitVM allows for the trust-minimized deployment of Bitcoin into various blockchains, DeFi protocols, and decentralized applications. This enables users to earn yield rewards, staking rewards, and participate in lending and borrowing features in a non-custodial, trust-minimized manner. The BitVM paradigm does not require a fork to the Bitcoin protocol and instead provides a technical solution built with zero-knowledge proofs, rollup architecture, and trust-minimized bridging.
Bitlayer’s vision is to unlock Bitcoin’s full DeFi potential by teaming up with clients, the community, and ecosystem partners. The project continues to make history for Bitcoin by providing innovative solutions that enhance liquidity, security, and scalability within the ecosystem. As Bitlayer brings BitVM to the world stage, it is set to revolutionize the way Bitcoin is utilized in the DeFi space, paving the way for a more decentralized and secure financial future.
